


An Unexpected Truth

by RatMonarch



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Drabble, Flirting, Lies, M/M, Pre-Slash, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-29 05:35:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17801990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RatMonarch/pseuds/RatMonarch
Summary: Shuichi dares Kokichi to tell the truth for once.The answer he gets catches him off guard.





	An Unexpected Truth

Shuichi Saihara gave the boy sitting across from him an exasperated look, bluntly asking, “Remind me again why I hang out with you, Kokichi?”

The short boy gave a cheeky grin, mischief and amusement plastered all over his face as he practically chirped, “Because you like my company, obviously.”

Shuichi supposed that had to be true to some capacity. Him somehow managing to find enjoyment in the other boy’s presence would explain why he put up with Kokichi’s nonsense as much as he did. Anyone else in his position would have attempted to strangle Kokichi to death long ago. 

Shuichi sometimes thought that it was for the benefit of mankind as a whole that he was friends with the boy. Shuichi was pretty sure if he wasn’t there to reign the other boy in, their entire school would have fallen into chaos and burned to the ground long ago. 

Okay, so maybe that was a _bit_ of an exaggeration, but he was sure life would be a lot more chaotic for his classmates if he wasn’t there to unveil the lies Kokichi constantly told. 

Shuichi didn’t know why, but ever since preschool, Kokichi had a penchant for telling lies. Most assumed Kokichi developed the habit in order to avoid getting in trouble for all the various pranks he liked to pull, but Shuichi wasn’t convinced that was the whole truth. In his humble opinion, Kokichi liked telling lies simply because he was curious if he could get away with them. 

Kokichi had always been an instigator. He liked poking and prodding and pushing as much as he could until the person he was messing with either realized his scheme or blew up on him. So, it only made sense for Kokichi to enjoy spinning lies all for the sake of just how far he could push someone. The more ridiculous of a lie Kokichi managed to get away with, the more satisfaction he would elicit from the experience. 

What made it all worse was that Kokichi was a really good liar too. Even the most ridiculous of lies could get Shuichi to question himself. Kokichi could tell him he once blew up a building because the owner was rude to him, and Shuichi would spend the day worrying if Kokichi was actually crazy enough to do that. 

However, despite this, Shuichi liked to think that after having been around Kokichi for years, he was more adept than others at being able to tell when the other boy was lying or not. 

After all, even Kokichi had his tics when he lied. Kokichi was more skilled than others at covering them up, but even he would slip up occasionally, be it a slight change in his voice, an inadvertent twitch of his lips, a shift of his eyes, or anything else. 

Since Shuichi was one of the few students who managed to be able to pick up on these minute details, he had to play hero many times, especially for the more gullible of his classmates. A memory flashed in his head. 

_“Hey Gonta, I actually learned a while ago that the school grinds bugs up in our food in order to give us enough protein so that our meals qualify as ‘healthy meals’.”_

_Gonta, who only a second ago had been shoveling food in his mouth with ferocious vigor, suddenly froze, horror in his gaze at the idea of eating his insect friends. Blinking fearfully, he said, “Wait… really?” He quickly threw down his fork in disgust._

_Before Kokichi could continue his lie, Shuichi had quickly interjected, saying, “He’s lying, Gonta. Don’t listen to him. The health department would shut our school down if they served us bugs.”_

_Normally, Kokichi would keep insisting, in the hopes that his victim wouldn’t listen to Shuichi, but mercifully, Kokichi had given up on the spot, crossing his arms and pouting, “You are absolutely no fun, Saihara-chan.”_

_Meanwhile, Gonta just looked relieved and slightly embarrassed at having been duped, saying, “Oh thank goodness. I was about to get quite upset there... “_

Shuichi saved the day so often, he was pretty sure Kokichi considered trying to get a lie past his radar a fun challenge. If he was being perfectly honest, if Kokichi wasn’t being particularly obnoxious or cruel that day, then Shuichi had a bit of fun with their little ‘game’ of sorts. Not that he would ever admit that out loud to Kokichi. He didn’t want to imagine the monster that would be released if he did. 

Their little game kept Shuichi on his toes. Catching Kokichi out on a lie was incredibly satisfying. It made him feel like a true detective, having to clue in on body language and story discrepancies to piece together if Kokichi’s story was plausible. 

So yes, Shuichi supposed that as annoyed as he acted, he did enjoy Kokichi as both a friend and as a rival of sorts. 

But contrary to popular belief, even _his_ patience was finite.

Arching an eyebrow at Kokichi, he picked up a piece of meat from his lunch, saying, “Do you even know how to tell the truth anymore?”

Kokichi, who was taking a swig from a purple Panta can, made a noise of offense and nodded.

Shuichi snorted. Pointing his chopsticks at Kokichi, he said, “Prove it. Tell me something truthful for once.” Then, seeing a mischievous glimmer in Kokichi’s eyes, he quickly added, “And no telling me some random fun fact. I want it to be something about yourself.”

Kokichi continued to finish off his Panta can, humming thoughtfully. After a few heartbeats, he set down his now empty can, leaned across the table, and gave Shuichi a cat-like grin, saying, “Well, I think you’re cute. Does that count?”

Shuichi, who had been chewing his food, nearly choked, pounding his chest as he felt his face heating up. Kokichi almost immediately let out crows of laughter at the spectacle.

Wiping tears from the corners of his eyes, Kokichi gasped, “Oh my god, I should tell the truth more often if it gives me more funny reactions like that.”

Shuichi remained silent, not trusting himself to speak without making a fool out of himself. 

Some part of him felt convinced that Kokichi was lying. That he was just messing with him for a cheap laugh. That would be pretty in character for Kokichi. 

But Shuichi hadn’t caught the suggestion of a lie. No quivering lips, no averted eyes, no face scratching, nothing. So was Kokichi actually telling the truth for once?

And why was Shuichi actually hoping he was?

He would figure out those feelings later, he decided. For now, he just let out a groan and gave Kokichi a withering look, saying, “You’re the absolute worst, Kokichi-kun.”

“I know!” Kokichi practically sang, smug grin plastered all over his face.

**Author's Note:**

> I love both Shuichi and Ouma so much, y'all have no idea. Like just in general, I think they are some of the best DR characters out there... but admittedly, I have a penchant for a lot of the V3 cast. So, when this little idea popped into my head, I decided to quickly write bits and pieces of it whenever I had free time and voila, it came out like this. 
> 
> Thank you to my friend, Jessie, for helping me proof-read this cause it would've been messy otherwise lol. 
> 
> Critique is appreciated. 
> 
> Have a wonderful day!


End file.
